Eric Man
Developer, traveler, tinkerer, building things that work, and always learning.
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I've Used Linux for 20+ Years and Somehow Ended Up Back at DebianAugust 14, 2026
I have been using Linux for more than twenty years, which is long enough to develop several extremely strong opinions and then live long enough to discover that most of them were stupid. At various times I have run Slackware, Gentoo, Arch,…
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SICP Is Weird as Hell, and I Finally Understand Why People Worship ItAugust 11, 2026
There is a famous computer science book called Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. People call it SICP. Other people call it the Wizard Book because there is a wizard on the cover. This ought to be your first warning. Normal textbooks…
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The Older I Get, the More I Think Most Learning Advice Is BullshitAugust 08, 2026
There is a wonderful feeling you get after reading three books about something: you feel clever. This feeling is extremely dangerous. I know because I am highly susceptible to it. I like learning things. Computer science, mathematics, history, philosophy, languages. Give me an…
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What 20 Years of Production Engineering Does to Your BrainAugust 05, 2026
After enough years working on production systems, you develop peculiar reflexes. Someone shows you a beautiful architecture diagram and you immediately wonder which box is lying. Someone says, "This service is highly available." You ask, "What happens when the database becomes slow without actually…
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Why Really Good Engineers Sometimes Look Less Impressive Than Mediocre OnesAugust 01, 2026
There is an awkward thing that happens inside engineering organizations. The engineer who sounds strongest is not necessarily the engineer you want nearby when something genuinely difficult breaks. Anyone who has worked long enough has met both kinds. The first engineer can explain absolutely…
View this post → - I Think Most People Are Using AI Wrong July 29, 2026
- I've Been Programming Long Enough to Watch Old Ideas Become Cool Again July 25, 2026
- Things I Believed About Software Engineering at 25 That I Don't Believe at 41 July 20, 2026